Description

Lymantria dispar L. is a polyphagous defoliator that feeds on a variety of trees and shrubs. These hosts vary considerably in their nutritional value for the gypsy moth. Classifications patterned after that of Mosher (1915) are used to group potential hosts into categories that correspond to suitable, marginal, and inadequate. Within species differences in suitability also exist. The role of spatial factors (site effects) and temporal factors (establishment phenology) on the variability of host suitability is examined.